ROCK HILL, S.C. (March 19, 2013) – Having already taken three of the first four games on its five-game road swing, the ETSU baseball team looks to finish off the trip on a high note when the Bucs face Winthrop on Wednesday evening. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at The Winthrop Ballpark.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BUCS

- ETSU (12-5) opened the conference season with a series win at USC Upstate last weekend in Spartanburg. The Bucs defeated the Spartans, 8-0, on Friday night and claimed the series with a 10-4 victory in Sunday’s rubber match.

- Freshmen Griffin Krieg (Nashville, Tenn.) and Jeremy Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.) swept the Atlantic Sun weekly awards as Krieg was named Pitcher of the Week and Taylor landed Player of the Week accolades. Krieg – who tossed 11.0 shutout innings last week – held Upstate scoreless on four hits to earn the win on Friday night, while Taylor hit .458 (11-24) with three doubles, eight runs scored, and five RBIs against the Spartans.

- Junior right-hander Clinton Freeman (Jonesborough, Tenn.) made his first start of the season on Sunday and improved to 4-0 after giving the Bucs seven solid innings on the mound. Fellow junior righty Will Chesney (Knoxville, Tenn.) shut the door on the Spartans by tossing two scoreless innings out of the bullpen.

- As a team, the Blue and Gold hit .315 (34-108) with seven doubles, one triple, two home runs, 21 runs scored, and 18 RBIs in the three game series at USC Upstate. The ETSU pitching staff held the Spartans to 10 runs (nine earned), while Krieg and Freeman combined on Friday’s shutout – marking the first time USC Upstate was held without a run all season.

ABOUT WINTHROP

- The Eagles were swept by Rhode Island this past weekend and saw their record dip to 5-14.

- Four of Winthrop’s 14 setbacks have been decided by one run, while three of its five wins have come at home.

- Sophomore catcher Clay Altman leads the team with a .377 batting average and junior outfielder/infielder Cody Dolan is hitting .348 with five doubles, one home run and five RBI.

- Winthrop’s pitching staff enters Wednesday’s game with a 3.70 ERA and has only issued four home runs in 19 games.

SERIES HISTORY

- Wednesday marks the seventh all-time meeting between the two programs, with Winthrop leading the series, 6-0.

- The Eagles most recently defeated the Bucs, 2-1, last Tuesday night at Thomas Stadium. ETSU outhit the Eagles, 12-5, but the Blue and Gold were only 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

- This marks the Bucs’ first trip to Rock Hill since March 4, 2009, when ETSU dropped an 8-4 decision to the Eagles.

PITCHING MATCHUP

- Wednesday features a rematch of last Tuesday’s game as freshman left-hander Josh Jacques (Rollinsford, N.H.) faces off with freshman righty Joey Strain.

- Jacques suffered loss despite allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits in six innings of work, while Strain earned his first collegiate win after giving up the one run on eight hits in five innings.

COVERAGE

- Wednesday’s game will be video streamed on Winthrop Eagles TV by visiting WinthropEagles.com.

- Voice of the Bucs Jay Sandos will carry the live play-by-play Wednesday night through the Buccaneer Sports Network. To access the internet only broadcast, visit ETSUBucs.com.

- Live stats will be available for Wednesday’s game via StatBroadcast by visiting ETSUBucs.com. Fans can access live stats on their computers, mobile devices or tablets.

- Twitter updates can be accessed by following @ETSUAthletics and @ETSU_Baseball.

TEXTCASTER

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